By Sam Grigsby, PSO Director of Sports History
May 24, 2021



Baseball has produced some of the greatest icons in sports history from the mythical Babe Ruth to the great Cy Young. Anytime the titans of America’s Pastime faced off would have been unforgettable for those who saw it, a treasured memory and certainly a story to tell. Such a game took place in May of 1928 between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Athletics. Patrons of Shibe Park witnessed a game for the history books as not one Hall of Famer, not three, but a record thirteen took the field in the first game of a doubleheader.

  • A record 13 HOFers took the field in a game between the PHI Athletics and NY Yankees on May 24, 1928
  • Highest career OPS (min. 300 PA): 1. Babe Ruth (1.164), 2. Ted Williams (1.116), 3. Lou Gehrig (1.080)
  • Ty Cobb was the 1st player in MLB history to record 4,000 career hits

MLB RECORD 13 HALL OF FAMERS PLAYED IN A YANKEES VS. ATHLETICS GAME 

The matchup against the Yankees and Athletics proved important in the big picture of baseball history. At the time Philadelphia sat three and a half games behind New York for the top spot in the American League. Playing for the Athletics were Hall of Famers Ty CobbTris Speaker, eventual 1928 American League MVP Mickey Cochrane, and American League strikeout leader Lefty GroveAl Simmons and Jimmie Foxx joined in as pinch hitters. 

In the Yankees dugout, they had Babe Ruth, Lou GehrigTony LazzeriEarle CombsLeo Durocher, and AL Saves leader Waite HoyteGame one of the doubleheader stayed close as the Yanks held off the A’s in the ninth inning for a 9-7 victory. PHI won the second game but ultimately failed to overcome the Yankees for the AL pennant and a shot at the 1928 World Series. Several more Hall of Famers who didn’t count toward the record had their names tied to this historic matchup including managers Connie Mack and Miller Huggins, umpire Tom Connolly, and pitchers Herb Pennock and Stan Coveleski who did not play. 



  • Babe Ruth Career Highlights

  • Lou Gehrig Career Highlights

  • Ty Cobb Footage

  • Tris Speaker VS Babe Ruth (1920)

 



 

 

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